Agathocles of Syracuse

Agathocles of Syracuse (361 BC-289 BC) was the Greek tyrant of Syracuse from 317 BC to 289 BC, succeeding Timoleon and preceding Hicetas of Syracuse.

Biography
Agathocles was born in Thermae Himeraeae on Sicily (now Termini Imerese, Italy) in 361 BC, the son of a potter. He moved to Syracuse in 343 BC and entered the army, and, in 333 BC, he married the widow of his wealthy patron Damas. He was twice banished for trying to overthrow the oligarchy, and, in 317 BC, he returned with an army of mercenaries and banished or murdered 10,000 citizens before making himself tyrant. He created a strong army and fleet and subdued the greater part of Sicily, and war with Carthage followed. In 311 BC, he was defeated at the Himera River and besieged in Syracuse, and in 310 BC he made a desperate attempt to break through the blockade and attack the Carthaginians in Africa. He allied with the Cyrenaican ruler Ophellas before assassinating him and absorbing his army, and he won several victories before being completely defeated in 307 BC. He concluded peace with Carthage in 306 BC, and he styled himself King of Sicily in 304 BC and established a firm rule over the island's Greek cities. He was contemplating a fresh attack on Carthage at the time of his death in 289 BC.